Improvement in tunneling-machines



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improvement in T nneling-Machine. No. 127,125. Patented May 21,1812.

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Patented May 21,1872.

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Improvement in Tunneling-Machine.

No. 127,125, Patented May 21,1872.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALLEXEY W. VON SCHMIDT, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN TUNNELlNG-MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 127,125, dated May 21,1872.

cisco and State of California, have invented a new and useful ImprovedMachine for Outting and Running Tunnels in Rock, called the DiamondCircular Groove Tunneling Machine;

and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, true, and exactdescription thereof, reference beiu g had to the accompanying drawingand to the letters of reference marked thereon making a part of thisspecification.

My invention has for its object the production of a drilling-machinewhich shall cut an annular groove and a central blasting-hole; andconsists in the peculiar construction and arrangement of the parts to behereinafter explained.

To enable those skilled to make and use my improved drill, I willproceed to describe the construction and operation of the same,referring byletters to the accompanying-drawing, in which- Figure 1 is aside elevation; Fig. 2, a top View of the bed-plate, hollow cylinder,and main shaft, as will be more fully explained.

' Fig. 3 is a top view of the machine. Fig. 4. is

a front view of the main circular head or drum gearing withdiamond-cutters; Fig. 5, a section through Fig. 4, with the segmentsturned up, as will be presently explained; Figs. 6, 7,

8, and 9, detail views for special reference by letters; and Fig. 10 isa rear view of the machine, showing the cog-gear as well as the rails inthe tunnel for the machine to run upon, and

the inside rail for stone-truck represented by Fig. 9.

Similar letters denote like parts in the several figures.

A represents a cast-iron bed-plate, mounted upon trucks a. This plate ismade of considerable weight and strength. In a machine of the propersize to run a tunnel eight feet in diameter it should be about thirteenand a half feet in length. The rear portion, upon which the enginerests, (for a distance of four feet,) is six feet wide, and theremaining or forward portion is of a width suflicient to sustain thecylinder B, and is about one and a half inches thick. This bed-plate Ahas cast or otherwise formed with it a hollow cylinder, B, as seen atFigs. 1, 2, and 3. On the end of this cylinder B I secure a hollow hub,P, which forms the hearing or journal for the main wheel 9 of the drumD, on which journal or arbor the wheel 9 revolves. The hollow cylinder Bis ten anda half inches in diameter inside, and through this hollowcylinder I pass my main shaft 0. I make this shaft also hollow, and it,in turn, contains a hollow drill-rod, b. The shaft 0 has two bearings, c0, one at each end. On the head of the shaft O, projecting over theforward end of the bed-plate A and hollow journal P, I secure the maindriving-wheel h, which drives all the drills except the central one.Upon the periphery of the drum D, which I may denominate the circularcuttinghead, I mount, in the bearings e 0, any desirable number ofhollow drill-rods, t, which rotate in the bearings or boxes 0 e, theforward boxes e serving also the purpose, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, ofsecuring together the edges of the plates f, which are made of iron orsteel, one quarter of an inch thick, and about four feet in length, thusvirtually extending forward the circular cutting-head to that extent andforming the drum D. The plates f are fastened at their rear end to themain wheel 9 of the drum, and the edges are, of course, sufficiently farapart to allow the rotation of the drill rods t. ()n the forward orouter end of the hollow drill-rods t are located the annular diamonddrills or cutters d. Just forward of the main wheel g, and on the shaftO, as before mentioned, is secured the large drivinggear h, which is sixfeet six inches in diameter, and its cogs mesh with the cogs on theintermediate pinions t', mounted on short shafts which have theirhearings in boxes j on the inside of the rim of wheel g. On the sameshafts, immediately behing the pinions l, are secured other pinions h,of little larger diameter and finer cogs than pinions i, which mesh intothe small pinion-wheels 3 on the drill-rods t, and through this train ofgearing the drills are ro fated with the required speed. F represents ahinged segment of the cog-wheel h, and G represents a like segment ofthe main wheel 9 and drum D, arranged to swing up to enable thedrum-head to be drawn back over the rail and debris truck; and whenthese segments are swung up the central drill a is drawn back. Thesegments are secured in place by screwplates 1. H represents the twoengines for driving the machinery. The pistons are attached to thecrankshafts on either side of the cylinder B, each carrying abevel-gear, W, meshing into a like gear, -W,'on the rear end of the mainshaft 0, andby this means the drill-driving wheel h is rotated.Immediately behind this gear W, and on same shaft, is a straight gear,L, of about one-half the diameter of W",

which meshes with a gear, L, secured to a shaft, I, mounted inbracket-bearings o tached to the top of cylinder B at either end. On theforward end of this shaft I is a small pinion, p, meshing with a gear,q, on the hub of the wheel 9, by which means the whole drumhead isrotated at the same time that the drills are being run. Mounted on thissame shaft I, behind the gear L, is another gear, L, meshing, in turn,with a small gear, 1/, on the rear end of the rod or shaft 1) of thecentral drill a,

so that, it will be seen, the drum-head, the drills on its periphery,and the central or core drill are all driven at the same time and in thesame direction, and the drills on the periphery, while revolving aroundtheir axes, are also traveling in the circle described by the revolutionof the drum-head, thus cutting an annular groove, and the centraldrill-boring a central hole, which serves as the mine to receive theblasting agent. The central drillrod 1) passes through the hollow shaft0, and extends through the center of the drum-head, and out to about thesame plane as the drillrods on the periphery. In rear of thediamondpoint there is a loose collar, a, provided with a set-screw, I);this collar is slid back until it comes in contact with the hub of themain .drill gear-wheel h, where it is made fast upon the rod 1) byturning the set-screw I). The collar thus secured retains the drill-rodagainst retraction during the drilling operation, and

when it becomes necessary to swing up the segments F G, the collar'a isloosened and the drill-rod b drawn back out ofthe way. This hollowdrill-rod may. be supplied with .water through a rubber connection atthe rear 1 end. To the rear face of the wheel g, near its periphery issecured by metal loops a water- .pipe, c,'running around nearly theentire ex-'; tent of the wheel, beginning at the first drill, next tothe beginning of the'segment G, and continuing to the last drill, beforereaching joint is made which, while formin g a continuous pipe, willadmit of the segment being swung up. In line with each and everydrill-rodt v there is a short branch pipe and head, 12, which fits overthe rear end of the drill-rods t, which are all hollow, as well as thedrills. A radial pipe, as, extends from the pipe c to the hub of thewheel g, through which is a channel leading into and connecting with,the series of concentric grooyesin the face of the collar n, into whichis conducted, from the rear side through a rubber hose, a small columnof water under pressure; said water, while passing around the grooves 8,serves as a packing and lubricator before passing into the radial arm,to be thence distributed into the hollow drill-rods. Z, in the drawing,represents two fly-wheels on the shaft of engine to regulate the motionof the machinery. a r v The operation of the machine is as follows: Aface on the stone having been made, I lay the rails and place themachine on the rails; I then start the engines which causes the drumheadof the machine to turn at the rate of one revolution a minute, for aneight-foot tunnel. At the same time the cutters, each and all, arerevolved with a velocity of about eight hundred times that of thedrum-head, each diamond-cutter taking away a portion of the stone, andthe machine being moved forward by any feeding mechanism deemed best, anannular groove is cut in the rock about two inches wide. When thisgroove is cut to the depth of about two feet I back the machine on thetrack and charge the central hole made by the center drill with anyblasting agent. I While the cutting process is going on a stream ofwateris passing through all the cutters to prevent them from becominghot, and at the same time washing out all small particles of stone fromthe groove. After the blast which throws out the entire pillar of rock,I clear away the debris on the truck shown at Fig. 9, and running in mymachine, proceed as before, and so on.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is'

1. In combination with a cylindrical drumpose set forth. I g

3. The drum-head D and the drill-driving gear-wheel h, constructed withthe swinging segments F G, as described, so as to beraised above thedebris-truckwhen withdrawing the machine from the tunnel, as set forth.

4. The central core drill, constructed and arranged as described, so asto be drawn back when the segments are swung up, as set forth.

5. The drum-head, composed of the skeletonframe 1) and extension platesf, the latter secured together at their forward ends by the drill-rodboxes 6, and arranged to operate as and for the purpose set forth.

6. The drill-rods, made hollow as described, in combination with thegears h, i, la, and y, as and for the purposes set forth.

7. The water-lubricating channels 8 in the collar n, in combination withthe channel through the hub of the drumhead, and waterdistributing pipe:0 v, as and for the purposes set forth.

ALLEXEY W. VON SCHMIDT.

Witnesses:

R. A. WIGGIN, J. H. VON SCHMIDT.

